


Assorted Fruit

by chwheeler



Series: 10 Times Larry and Ahk Bonded Over Food [5]
Category: Night at the Museum (Movies)
Genre: Food, Gen, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-01
Updated: 2016-07-16
Packaged: 2018-05-17 14:14:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5873605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chwheeler/pseuds/chwheeler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Disclaimer: I don't own Night at the Museum or any of the characters depicted in this work of fiction. No, not even Steve (mostly). I am not making any sort of profit from this fic. It was done purely for fun!</p><p>How? How did this happen? Seven chapters, over 6000 words. It boggles even me. Nevertheless, installment number 5 of the Bonding over Food series!</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Lemon Cupcakes

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Night at the Museum or any of the characters depicted in this work of fiction. No, not even Steve (mostly). I am not making any sort of profit from this fic. It was done purely for fun!
> 
> How? How did this happen? Seven chapters, over 6000 words. It boggles even me. Nevertheless, installment number 5 of the Bonding over Food series!

The lemon cupcakes sat on the table in neat rows. Larry nudged one errant cupcake back into its place, accidentally smudging a bit of frosting with a finger. A small curse escaped him before he remembered to breath and calmly wiped the frosting from his finger. No one had wakened yet, and he wanted to get the sweets into everyone’s hands before he made his announcement.

Nicky had helped him frost the cakes that morning. He was a smarter kid than Larry felt he deserved to have.

“Are these bad news cupcakes, dad?”

“What? Why’d you ask that?”

“Well, I don’t think you’ve ever made cupcakes before. And you’ve seemed sad lately.”

“Maybe I just like cupcakes?”

“Maybe. Except that when you and mom told me about the divorce, you gave me an entire pint of ice cream beforehand.”

Larry had just replied “Huh” before spilling the beans to Nicky. What followed was a pep talk far too mature to be coming from a kid so young.

Now here he was anxious for everyone to begin roaming so he could get it over with. His anxiety ramped to a peak when he noticed Teddy riding over.

“What’s the occasion, Lawrence?” Teddy eyed the cupcakes from his perch on Texas.

“I… I’m leaving, Teddy.”

A distraught expression crossed Teddy’s face. “But you have done so well for yourself here, my boy.”

“And I love this job! But,” Larry suddenly lost his confidence as more of the exhibits began trickling in. “I’ll explain after everyone gets here.”

Once everyone had a cupcake in hand, or pierced on the tip of tail in Rexy’s case, Larry stood overlooking the rotunda.

“Thanks for being so patient, everybody. I just want to start off by saying that this is the greatest job I’ve ever had.”

“What’s going on Hoss, this ain’t your usual style of roundup?” Jed piped up.

“I know. Well, I’ve managed to find a financer for the unlosable key ring. Daley Devices is going to be a reality.” A murmur rippled through the crowd.

“Congratulations Lawrence!” Teddy cheered from his spot. “Bully!”

“Thanks Teddy. There’s more. Because of this opportunity, I have to leave my position at the museum.” A louder murmur went through the crowd this time.

Octavius’ tiny hand went into the air, silencing even the largest exhibits. “While we are very disappointed, we wish you the best the Gods can provide you, Larry.” Light applause followed the declaration.

Heartened by Octavius’ words, Larry finally braved a scan of the room for one face in particular. He only managed to spot a swirling cloak exiting out of the hall. Larry finished his announcement with a brief ‘Thanks’ and hurried to the stairs to catch the fleeing young man. Handshaking impeded his pursuit and he arrived at Ahk’s chamber only to find it empty, save the two Anubis guardians.

“Do you know where he went?” The two statures shrugged.

Larry wandered the halls, saying thanks to the ‘good lucks’ and hugging a few emotional exhibits, including more than a few teary-eyed Huns.

It wasn’t long before he crossed paths with Teddy and Sacagawea taking a late-night horse ride through the halls.

“Have you guys seen Ahk?”

“I haven’t seen him since your announcement, Lawrence. We truly will miss you, my boy. What about you, my dear?”

“I last saw him heading through the Grand Gallery toward Human Origins. We will all miss you Larry. Some more than even you would know.” The pointed look she gave Larry made him squirm.

“Thanks, guys. I’m going to visit all the time, don’t worry.”

Larry let Texas on his way then headed off in the direction Sac had said. Larry rarely spent time in that part of the museum, usually just passing through as a routine door check at the beginning of the night and right before the end of his shift. He headed through the Grand Gallery and Human Origins before finally finding the man in the Hall of Minerals. The hall surrounding the glass-enclosed rocks was empty, save for one robed figure, who sat before a large mineral ore block. The block sat at a height, surrounded by circular steps. It was on these steps that Ahk sat.

“Wow. That’s a big rock.”

“It weighs four-point-five tons.”

“Wow!” Larry stood quietly at Ahk’s side, letting the younger man continue his quiet observation of the green and blue mineral.

“Sometimes I come here to study the rocks. It’s amazing what modern scientists can observe with just a sample of the Earth.” Larry nodded along with Ahk’s musings. He paused when there was as shift in Ahk’s tone. “Other times I just like to remind myself that I won’t outlast everything around me.” The simple statement took Larry aback.

“What?”

“This is azurite-malachite, Larry. Did you know that back in my time, we used azurite as a pigment? Long after the wax exhibits melt, after these walls fall, and finally my mummified remains crumble to dust, THIS,” he gestured to the ore, “this will still be here.”

“Ahk, that’s…” Larry was at a loss for words. Ahk turned to look at him. Larry noticed a sad note of distress.

“I’m alone, Larry. Stranded in time.”

“You’re not alone. A lot of things from your time are still around. Remember the falafel? Your guys’ pyramids and tombs are still intact!” Ahk looked at him unhappily. Larry struggled for more to say. “You’re not even the oldest living thing here at the museum. Rexy is, what, 70 million years old? He’s not a great conversationalist, granted, but still.”

“Why must you go?”

Larry slumped. “Is that what this is about?” Larry slung his arm over Ahk’s shoulders. “I’m going to visit. I’m not gone forever. I’m not ceasing to exist. Do you want another cupcake?”

Ahk’s face dropped and he pulled out of Larry’s embrace.

“No, I do NOT want another cupcake.” Larry watched as Ahk stalked over to one of the glass display cases containing smaller rock specimens.

“Are you sure? Attila and the Easter Island Head are going to eat all the leftovers if we don’t act fast.” And I don’t think either of those guys needs more sugar.”

Ahk remained silent. Larry could see the stony expression on Ahk’s face reflected in the glass.

“If you’d rather be alone…” Larry patted Ahk once on the shoulder before turning and leaving the hall.

-

Larry’s final two weeks were a long list of goodbyes, awkward training of the new guard, and a distinct lack of Ahkmenrah.

Doctor McPhee hadn’t slacked in finding a replacement for Larry. (“Ooh! Cupcake! Wait, no, not Ooh. Ooooooh, cupcake. Why cupcake? Why are you plying me with sugary confections? Has the dinosaur reassembled itself in aquatics again?”) Larry, feeling kind, didn’t want to do what Cecil, Gus and Reg did to him. Therefore, much to McPhee’s confusion, Larry was actually going to TRAIN his replacement.

His replacement was a young guy, kind of laid back and a bit spacey. Larry sat with him the first night, waiting for Rexy to wake up. The large dinosaur came to life and Larry looked at his replacement, Steve, for a reaction.

A moment of silence passed while Rexy bounded about like the giant puppy with a new toy that he was. Steve just stared before nodding slightly.

“Cool,” he said calmly.

That was about it for any reaction from Steve over the two weeks of training. Larry was a little jealous when Dexter didn’t antagonize Steve, but the relief of knowing everyone was going to be in good hands was more than enough to make up for it.

He didn’t really get to speak with Ahk one-on-one until his last night. The night was already half over and the gang had decided to throw a going away party for him. Ahk had said ‘Goodbye’ as part of the group farewell at the beginning of the party, but had disappeared pretty quickly after that. Larry discretely excused himself from the party. Larry found Ahk in his chamber, pacing around his sarcophagus.

“Hey, Ahk. You left kind of quick, I didn’t get a chance to see you.” A guilty look flitted across Ahk’s face.

“Larry…”

“Look, I know that last conversation ended on an awkward note. I just wanted to make sure we were cool, y’know?”

Ahk stopped pacing, but was staring a hole into the ground.

“Soooo, are we?” Ahk seemed to snap out of his reverie.

“Are we what, Larry?”

“… cool?” Ahk was now boring a hole into Larry. “Just be honest with me, man.”

“Cool? Are we cool, Larry? Honestly?” Ahk took a step away from Larry. “We are very much uncool.”

“That word doesn’t have the same meaning-“ Larry cut himself off. Ahk was full on glaring. “Sorry.”

“You are leaving, Larry. Why am I supposed to be okay with that? I honestly thought about ordering you to stay. But then I remembered your lessons on treating fellow man with respect and equality. As childish as it feels, I just want to say, ‘No, I am Pharaoh and King, and I say stay.’”

Ahk moved even further away from Larry, towards a dark alcove.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for you, Larry. I wish you all the best the world can give you.” Larry followed Ahk into the shadows. They were now out of view of the sentries and anyone who could wander past the entranceway.

Ahk couldn’t retreat any further. He finally looked Larry in the eyes. Larry hesitated, a little caught in the throat. Goodbye was easy until you had to actually go through with it.

“Ahkmenrah-“

“Larry.” Ahk lifted his hand and brushed it lightly against Larry’s face, an unexpected tenderness in his eyes. Larry tried tried to keep his face from betraying the shock and confusion he was feeling, but it was too late. Ahk’s soft expression morphed into embarrassment. He dropped his hand.

Ahk turned away, unwilling to look Larry in the eye again.

“I apologize for my foolish behavior. Goodbye Larry. Guardian of Brooklyn.” Ahk ducked away from Larry boxing him in and strode out of the chamber. Larry stood, still dumbfounded, before snapping himself out of it and returned to the party. He didn’t see Ahk again until months later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I studied the maps and pictures of the actual Natural History Museum to try and lend some accuracy to the exhibits. So, yes, the giant ore Ahk has exisential angst with actually is there.
> 
> And I threw in Steve because somebody needs to be the guard for the gap between the two movies. My timeline puts Larry being gone for about two years! That's a long time. So since the movies didn't give us a person, Steve!


	2. Strawberries

Getting Daley Devices set up and running took time, so Larry’s planned visit to the museum was postponed more times than he would have liked. By the time he managed to schedule some time aside, he felt it would be rude to show up empty handed.

That’s why he showed up with bags of strawberries and assorted companion foods for the sweet fruit. He paused through the doors, both of his arms full with paper bags, followed by his very confused assistant Gina who had a bag of her own. They walked through the slowly exiting stream of people up toward the main desk. The docent smiled and waved Larry through. After depositing the bags in the break room he turned to Gina.

“Thanks. You can go; I’ve got it covered from here. Remember, I’ll be late tomorrow, don’t wait for me.”

“Of course, Mr. Daley.”

“Please, it’s just Larry.”

“Of course, Mr. Daley.” She left a bemused Larry in the hallway, who just shook his head.

“Dude, I mean, um, excuse me, sir, but the museum is closing, so, y’know?”

Larry turned around and watched as Steve meandered down the empty hallway towards him.

“Whoa! Larry, my man. Long time no see. McPhee know you’re here? Am I getting canned?”

“Calm down, Steve. Dr. McPhee said I could visit whenever I felt like it.”

“Are you sure this isn’t some secret evaluation? Because there are a few things I need to take care of first if I’m getting graded.”

“It’s not, I promise,” Larry said through chuckles. He wandered back to the entrance rotunda so Steve could finish his rounds as the museum fully closed.

“Lawrence!” came the boisterous greeting of Teddy after the doors were locked tight.

“Teddy!”

“How are you my boy?”

“I’m great. You wouldn’t believe how well Daley Devices is doing.”

“I believe in you, Lawrence. That’s all the belief I need.” Larry lost his words at Teddy’s sincerity. He cleared his throat to get rid of the frog that had suddenly lodged there.

“I’ve got a surprise for everyone.” Larry noticed Sacagawea entering the hall. “Sac!” She stopped, eyes a bit wide, before turning on heel and leaving. “Where’s she going?”

Teddy slapped Larry on the back, hard enough to make him stumble. “Never mind that, she’ll return. What have you brought for us, son?”

Larry told Teddy about the bags. Soon enough she did return.

“Hello, Larry.”

“Hi Sac. Mind giving us a hand?”

She gave Larry a warm hug. “I’d love to.”

Setting up the strawberry madness didn’t take long and allowed Larry to catch up with the couple.

“Steve is a perfectly adequate guard, Larry. Don’t worry. He may seem a bit…” Teddy hesitated.

“Dippy?” Larry supplied, causing Sacagawea to smile into her hand as Teddy tried to remain diplomatic.

“Er, yes.”

Sacagawea cut in and finished Teddy’s thought. “But he is efficient, everyone likes him, and there have been no incidents so far.”

Larry stirred a spoon in a jar of fudge sauce while skeptically eying the two, who both tried to smile innocently. “Right. Okay, I think this is all ready.”

Teddy hoisted himself into his saddle and rounded up the troops, so to speak. Larry stood with Sac and handed out plates while Larry hugged, shook hands, and greeted all of the excited exhibits. He soon relieved himself and Sac, bestowing plate duties to two of Attila’s men.

“So where’s Ahk,” Larry casually asked as Sac dolloped some whipped cream on her own plate. The spoon flew from her hand, knocking a Neanderthal in the side of the head.

“Sorry!” The Neanderthal shrugged, wiped the white cream out of his hair, and proceeded to eat it off his hand. She turned to Larry. “Larry…”

“Come on, Sacagawea. Don’t think I didn’t know that’s where you went when you walked off earlier.”

“No?”

“Teddy gave you away.”

“Teddy,” she said in dismay.

“You called my dear?” Teddy strolled up, holding his own plate.

“Where’s Ahk?” Larry reached out to keep Teddy’s plate from tipping over.

“Ahkmenrah is a young, proud man who has gone through many trials during both his both life and afterlife—“

“Teddy!”

“He was embarrassed, Larry. His behavior during your last weeks here, he feels very ashamed. I tried to talk to him, but he—“

“Ashamed? I’ve got to talk to him.” Larry practically ran from the rotunda, but not before snagging something he hoped would help. He sped walked his way towards Ahk’s chamber, going over his speech in his head.

Larry careened around a corner, only to find himself sprawled out on the cold floor, slightly worse for wear. Ahk had been rounding the same corner and Larry had crashed into him at quite a fast speed.

“Ahk!”

“Larry?” Sitting on the ground opposite each other, Larry realized all of his words abandoned him for the second time that evening. He gaped a bit, as Ahk’s deer-in-the-headlights stare slowly switched into embarrassment and humor. As the twinkle in Ahk’s eyes got brighter, Larry suddenly remembered the object he had brought.

“Strawberry?” He presented the red fruit to the now openly laughing king. The strawberry was plucked from Larry’s hand and popped while into Ahk’s mouth. He chewed idly while rubbing a hand through his curly, mussed hair. Larry pointed to the wandering hand.

“You okay?”

“I believe my crown,” Ahk pointed over to the crown lying on the ground across the hallway, “saved the day.”

“Oh crap, is that okay?” Larry scrambled up off the ground and went to retrieve it. “Dr. McPhee will read me the riot act if I break priceless artifacts when I’m not even the night guard.” Larry returned to the still seated Ahk, cradling the crown in his arm. He held out a hand. Ahk took it and heaved himself into a standing position.

They looked awkwardly at one another before Larry went “Oh!” and handed the crown back to its owner. Ahk placed it on his head, the curls once more disappearing from sight. Larry decided to try again.

“There are more strawberries at the party if you wanna….” 

Ahk smiled, a genuine and goofy smile, and nodded. “Of course, lead the way.”

They started down the hallway at a leisurely pace.

“So… how is Daley Devices?” Larry startled, surprised that Ahk was jumping right in to the fray of what had caused the initial argument. Larry decided to risk the water and dive in head first.

“It’s going great actually. The unlosable key ring is really popular, a best seller. It helps that the commercial is so popular.”

“Yes! We saw it multiple times on the television. I enjoyed the part with the toddler-“

“And the birthday cake! I know, right? It took them 10 takes to get the dog to pop the balloon on cue.” They both laughed, before returning to the silent walk.

“Larry, are we… are we cool? My behavior was out of line-”

“Ahk, stop. Please don’t feel bad or ashamed or anything like that. I sprung the news on everybody pretty suddenly; you had a hard time dealing with it. I get it. I just want you to know that everything is fine between us. We are totally cool.”

“Still friends?”

“Definitely. I didn’t want you to think we weren’t.”

“…good.” They finally made it to the party. After piling their plates with more strawberries, Larry regaled Ahk with historical information regarding the fruit for nearly the rest of the night (“Technically, it’s not even a berry!”), a hesitant replay of so many nights that had come before. Finally, after the food mess was cleaned up, the party was over, and everyone was headed off to bed, Larry escorted Ahk back to his chamber.

“When will you be back?”

“When I get the time. I’ll be back, don’t worry.”

“The strawberries were delicious, by the way.” Larry waved off the complement and shuffled his feet. Ahk caught the flapping arm in his hand. He held Larry’s hand firmly, warm skin against warm skin. He looked Larry in the eye. “Goodnight, Larry.” He let go and left a flustered Larry floundering in the hallway.

“Night, Ahk,” he muttered to the empty air.


	3. Popsicles

Larry visited as often as he could, between all of the meetings he had to attend as owner of Daley Devices. And considering how quickly Daley Devices was moving up the consumer ladder, there were a LOT of meetings.

“What. Is. That.” Ahk’s eyes were saucers when he saw the plastic wrapped item Larry waggled in his face.

“Poletas. Mexican popsicles. There’s this restaurant- well, I say restaurant, it’s basically a counter connected to a kitchen- that makes them by hand, Nicky loves them. This one’s watermelon, I brought—“ The second the word watermelon had left his mouth, the treat was ripped from his hand, unwrapped, and in Ahk’s mouth.

Larry smiled at the eagerness and proceeded to unwrap his own horchata poleta. They sat comfortably next to each other and watched Steve try to organize a mock gazelle hunt for the cavemen. He wasn’t succeeding, to Ahk and Larry’s enjoyment. While Steve descended into his own grunting, ground slapping version of caveman language, Ahk wheedled Larry into sacrificing the last bit of frozen horchata to Ahk. Larry gave in and handed it over. As Larry started to unwrap the mango flavor next, he watched Ahk shove the entire last bit of popsicle into his mouth all at once. An alarmed look quickly took over his face. Larry pulled the mango out of its wrapper. “You okay?” He hid his smile behind the mango popsicle.

Ahk now had his hand to his head, prodding between his eyes. “My head!” Larry couldn’t keep a bark of laughter from escaping.

“It’s a brain freeze. That’s what happens when you inhale a popsicle.” Ahk pouted and groaned, sending Larry into an even longer fit of laughter. By the time he managed to overcome the giggles, Ahk’s brain freeze had subsided, he’d stolen the popsicle from Larry’s hand, and was now pouting with it wedged between his lips.

It was honestly the most relaxed Larry had felt in months. The cavemen banged their sticks and yelled as Steve led a charge.


	4. Dates

Larry looked at his watch, willing the cab driver to move just a little bit faster. The sun had long since dropped below the horizon and he hated to be absent even longer than he already had. The Extra-Large Dog Bone had been an unprecedented extra-large hit, which while exciting had bitten an extra-large chunk of time out of his already busy schedule. When Larry had gone to the market at lunch that day, he only had time to grab the first thing that sounded vaguely interesting: dates. He had called Steve earlier in the day to tell him that he was coming after work.

Work had other ideas. After a morning of in-person meeting, greeting, and overseeing, Larry spent the afternoon on the phone wheeling, dealing, and trying to be appealing. It got to the point that the sun was already setting by the time he was able to hang up the phone and head out of his office. That’s when his assistant Gina cornered him with yet another issue.

“I’m kind of late, can this wait until tomorrow?” He gestured helplessly with the hand holding the container of dates.

“Dates, sir?”

“No, we’re just friends, and I—”

“Er, you are spilling your dates.”

“Oh!” He dropped to the ground and started gathering them up. “These are still good to eat, right? This is awful, I’m already late as it is.”

“Are you sure you are alright, Mr. Daley?”

“Uhm, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” Larry stared into the ugly, recycled industrial carpet.

“Larry?” Gina knelt next to him and started scooping up some of the dates. Larry sighed.

“I’ve just been so busy; I haven’t seen my friend in a while.” Larry rubbed his face. “It’s his birthday.” Larry omitted the fact that it was actually Ahk’s coronation day, which was much more important. At least, it was close enough that they could figure date-wise when Larry had learned about it.

She handed the once again full date container to Larry and they both stood. “Your friend will love these. They’re even in season.”

Larry thanked her again and finally left the building.

Larry jumped out of the cab and hurried up the concrete steps. He knocked on the locked revolving door, hoping Steve was nearby to hear. Luckily enough he was. As Steve unlocked the door and pulled it open, he clucked his tongue. “Larry Daley, it’s better to be three hours early than a minute late.”

Larry shot him a puzzled look.

“I don’t know. One of my college professors said it every time I was tardy. So I heard it a lot. Yeah, I wasn’t a very good student.” Steve shrugged. “Ahkmenrah said he’d be in the Hall of Minerals if anyone wanted him.” Larry jogged through the halls to the mineral exhibit. Ahk was seated casually reclined, staring into one of the lit cases.

“Hey! Sorry I’m late.”

Ahk titled his head backwards to look at Larry. Larry couldn’t help but notice the absence of Ahk’s crown. The curly, dark brown hair made the king look younger and more genial, approachable. Larry plopped down at Ahk’s side and held out the plastic container.

“Happy birthday. Coronation day? Whichever, take your present.”

Ahk boggled and looked at the gift. A small smile appeared on his face. “Thank you.”

Larry set the container between them before mirroring Ahk’s reclined position. “Whatcha looking at?”

“I am learning about atoms, lattices, and crystalline minerals.” Ahk said casually. Ahk reached over, popped open the container, and plucked out a date. Holding it between thumb and index, he held it close to his eye and inspected it in the dim light, going a bit crosseyed as he brought it closer to his face. “My mother loved these.” Larry watched Ahk’s profile in the darkness of the exhibit. Only the case lights seemed to be on. Larry kept quiet, afraid he’d break the soft remembrance Ahk was in. “She would sneak them to me when I was upset, pulling them from midair. It was the most astounding bit of magic my five-year-old self had ever witnessed.” Ahk breathes out a soft laugh. “How naïve, knowing what I know now.” Ahk looked a moment more before taking a small bite from the fleshy fruit. He held out the other half of the formerly oblong object to Larry. Larry took it and finished off the bite.

Ahk rubbed at his eyes, before bolting up to a seated position, laughing uncomfortably. “How unbecoming of me, being a mope on a day of celebration. You are my guest, Larry, come! Let’s have some fun.”

Ahk dragged Larry up from the floor, grabbed the dates, and dashed out into the hallway. It was all Larry could do to keep up with Ahk, who was leading the way. He led him up a staircase in one of the evacuation stairwells, before leading him to one final door. Ahk burst through and the blast of cold air nearly knocked the breath from Larry’s lungs. Ahk stretched his sinewy arms and legs in the moonlight like a cat finding the sunny spot on the carpet.

“Ahk, it’s 40 degrees out here, and you don’t even have a shirt on.”

“Nonsense. Come closer to me if you are worried, we shall share heat.” Ahk was leaning out over the edge of the roof, looking below and out to the city. Larry walked over and reeled Ahk in, nervous about the height. They stood and snacked, Ahk pointing at the distant lit buildings looming over the darkness of the park with Larry trying to name them.

“What about that one?”

“That. That is the building where the portal to the underworld is. And thanks to a god of destruction named Gozer, we were attacked by a skyscraper sized marshmallow man. A team of experts managed to destroy it though, causing all of Manhattan to be smothered in marshmallow fluff.”

“That is a blatant lie. Stop teasing me.”

“Okay, it’s a lie. The actual location of that building is about 10 blocks,” Larry pointed down the street in front of the library, “that way.”

“Larry.”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s from a movie, fine. But the building really is 10 blocks that way.” Larry shrugged. “What gave me away? Portal to the underworld too much?”

“Gateways to other worlds I’ve seen, actually. Giant marshmallow men, however, not so much.”

“Really? Gateways?”

“A magic tablet that brings life to the lifeless is perfectly believable but a supernatural doorway is going too far?”

“When you put it like that…” They descended into a comfortable silence, sharing the dates and the stars. The evening passed slowly and ended when Larry noticed that the sky was not so black anymore.

“Time to head in.”

“Thank you, Larry. This was a wonderful night spent with a great friend.”

The halls were quiet, only the stragglers like Ahk and Larry meandering their way back to their exhibits for the upcoming day. They stopped in front of the entrance to Ahk’s chamber. “Ahk?”

“Yes?” Larry reached up behind Ahk’s ear and with a flourish of fingers pulled one of the dates from thin air.

A magical smile overtook Ahk’s face.

“Happy birthday.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The quote Steve is slightly mangling is from The Merry Wives of Windsor. ("Better 3 hours too soon than a minute too late.")


	5. Pomegranates

When Larry arrived with a small bag of pomegranates just before sundown, Steve just looked at him with a cocked eyebrow. “Have you ever read Twelfth Night?”

Larry scrunched his eyebrows. “Isn’t that Shakespeare?”

“If music be the food of love, play on. Give me excess of it; that surfeiting, the appetite may sicken, and so die.” He gave a pointed look to the bag in Larry’s hand.

Larry thought for a second to decipher Steve’s words. After a moment, the insinuation dawned on him. “These are pomegranates, not music. Besides, you’re kind of killing the metaphor. You’re basically saying ‘If food is the food of love’. Kind of misses the literary intent.”

“Uh huh.”

Larry glared mildly. “Shakespeare, Steve? That’s a new layer for you.”

“Do you want to hear one of Shakespeare’s dirty jokes? He wrote a million of them.”

“Wow. That was a shockingly thin layer. Bye Steve.”

“Bye Larry. Tell Ahk that you want your love to die!”

Larry tried to ignore the reverberation of ‘DIE DIe Die die…’ in the quiet halls. 

Larry entered Ahk’s chamber just as the young king was rising out of his sarcophagus, Dracula-like, still wrapped in his bandages.

“Need a little help?” The bandage-covered head whipped in his direction, the wrapped hands scrambling to find the free edge. Larry reached out.

“Larry?”

“Yeah, just…” Larry stilled the hands and easily peeled the free edge from where it was tucked. He quickly unraveled to reveal Ahk’s gleaming face. Larry handed the bundle of bandage to Ahk, who tucked it beside himself in the coffin. Ahk shook his head like a dog, dispersing a layer of dust in the air. Larry laughed.

“What?”

“Just reminded me of the first time we met. Dusty.”

“Yes, the dust does seem to settle back in overnight. If I was more curious about the matter, I’d almost blame the magic of the tablet.”

Larry gave Ahk a hand out of his resting place and stood awkwardly as Ahk began to unwrap his torso.

“Uhh, I’ll just give you some privacy.” Larry turned on heel and walked back to the large guards to let Ahk dress in his kingly robes.

“How’s it going?” Larry rocked back and forth, hands shoved in his pockets. The jackal on his left nodded in a scrape of stone. Larry nodded back. “So… do you like guarding?”

The first statue nodded while the second did the universal hand gesture for “Ehhh.” 

“I’m a fan, myself.” The statues exchanged a look. “I like what I do now! Too. I still liked guarding this place, though. A lot of fond memories were made here.”

The awkward moment was broken by Ahk stepping next to Larry. “So, what brings you by so early, Larry Daley?” Larry held up the paper bag in hand and shrugged.

“Well, it always takes me forever to pick these apart, so I thought I’d give us some extra time.” The two men found themselves sitting under the whale in the Ocean Life hall, listening to the whale song. Every so often mist would blow out and lightly shower them.

“There’s no way that this is sanitary.”

“It is pleasant, though, do you not agree?” Ahk’s grin was a bit too giddy for Larry to handle. Larry snatched the last pomegranate from Ahk’s hand and took off to the hall’s entrance staircase. Ahk took chase and the two ran around the mezzanine level. Larry tossed pips of pomegranate backwards like miniature, sticky bombs, which Ahk easily dodged. He made it to the Ancient Oceans display before Ahk finally caught him, red stained fingers latching onto his arm and pushing him to the ground. The pomegranate Larry had been using as an attack weapon flew out of his hand and plummeted to the lower level, hitting the ground with a squishy THUMP.

Now depleted of their pomegranate stock, the two of them sat on the ground, panting.

“Truce, I call truce.” Larry held up his hands, defeated.

Ahk acquiesced. “Yes, I concur.”

Once more being able to breath, the two enjoyed the ocean sound that seemed to be a permanent white noise of the hall. Ahk glanced up to the display they were sitting beneath.

“Larry, may I ask you a question?”

“Um, sure. Fire away.”

“Do you view me as ancient?”

Larry was taken aback. “What?”

“Ancient civilizations. Ancient fossils. Ancient oceans.” Ahk gestured to the exhibit. Larry slowly nodded. Ahk then gestured towards himself. A befuddled expression crossed Larry’s face. Ahk, his voice gone quiet and serious, filled in the blank Larry was missing. “Ancient Egypt.”

Larry reached out and touched Ahk’s shoulder. “It’s just a designation, a name for when you lived.”

“But I am living. I feel more alive now than I have in centuries.” Ahk mirrored Larry by putting his own hand on Larry’s shoulder. “I know you’ll deny this, but… you make me feel alive. I no longer feel like an ancient being, watching everything crumble to dust around me. I wrongly viewed your leaving as an ending. It was the beginning of my own understanding. It truly allowed me to understand the value of your friendship and your companionship.” Ahk’s hand ran down Larry’s arm and captured his hand in an embrace, linking them in dwindling free space between their bodies.

“Oh man,” Larry ran his free hand through his hair. “Ahk, that’s… very flattering.” Larry’s mind floundered for excuses, any reason to ignore whatever was brewing between them. That had been brewing for months, bubbling through dozens of exchanges and encounters. “I view you as a young man in his prime, eager to try new things.”

“You do realize I was in charge of an entire kingdom and army at one point in history, right?” Ahk had a bemused look on his face, Larry continued to ramble.

“That’s… a very good point.” Larry couldn’t look at the younger man. He was too busy staring at their linked hands. “You are a great friend who I’m happy to humor and teach and spend time with. I think our friendship is great,” Larry finished lamely.

“I am very fond of our friendship as well. Thank you.” Larry tried to ignore the feeling that Ahk wasn’t satisfied with his vague, rambling answer. When they parted ways at the end of the night, there was an uneasy feeling rooted in the pit of Larry’s stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must have rewritten this chapter five times. And I mean flat out changing the conversation and actions all together. The previous versions just didn't feel organic. Happily, I came up with this! The one thing that stayed consistent? The statue answering "Meh". It's bad form to laugh at your own jokes, but man, that image still kills me.
> 
> Just to note, once again, I tried to stay accurate to the actual hall of Ocean Life in the real museum. We only see it once in the films, for just a gag. That gag is what inspired the chapter, really. I liked the image of Ahk and Larry being misted with water in wonder (and just a little bit of disgust).


	6. Rotten Avocado

Larry had planned to visit, he really had. He had even bought avocados to make guacamole for movie night. He was positive Ahk would love guacamole. But business butted in and the avocados sat on the counter until they were withered brown lumps of mush. Months passed. By the time his schedule opened up, he found himself staring at a virtual Teddy Roosevelt, surrounded by the boxed up remains of the museum lobby.

Larry hated the virtual Teddy Roosevelt on sight. As he listened to it speak, he couldn’t help but think “Teddy could do this way better. He’d be amazing with the kids and patrons, and wouldn’t sound like a broken robot to boot.”

And as the crates popped open and he listened to the gripes of the exhibits, the feeling in his gut deepened. Not to mention the fact that his stupid phone would not stop going off. As Teddy led the group on their final memory walk, Larry was left in the rotunda. He stared forlornly at the ground before realizing he wasn’t alone. He could feel a set of eyes boring a hole in the back of his head.

“Don’t you want to join the group?” he asked a clearly contemplative Ahk.

“Not particularly.”

“So… the federal archives.” Ahk looked puzzled before his face cleared and he turned away.

“Oh, yes, the archives. It will be quite a change….”

“Are you going to be okay?”

Ahk continued to avoid Larry’s gaze, his hands folded behind his back, shoulders ramrod straight. “Yes, there are many fascinating treasures in the National Archives. It is an honor for our friends to be joining them.” Larry nodded, trying to have the same optimism. They stood, an awkward silence permeating the empty halls. After a few moments, Ahk cleared his throat. “Perhaps you should join them on their memory tour. It is also your last memory of this museum in the image of your time here, Larry. It is important for you to remember, too.”

Larry shuffled his feet and moved to stand next to Ahk, setting a hand on the tense shoulder of the pharaoh. “You should come too.”

“No, I don’t think that would be wise.”

“Ahk.”

“No.” Ahkmenrah jerked out of Larry’s grasp. Larry contemplated taking the pharaoh by the shoulders and frog marching him in the direction the others went. Instead he spun the man around and gave him a bear hug. He held back his parting words and let the hug linger a moment before letting go, turning down the corridor without a glance back at the stunned Ahk.

The night passed all too quickly and soon enough everyone was returning to their crates, giving their last goodbyes. Larry tried to not let the cackling Dexter get to him, even if his fingers were still stinging from the crate slamming shut on them. Teddy approached him and let slip the truth of the situation. Of course, his stupid phone went off again before Teddy could finish his advice. Larry held up his finger, “One sec, I just gotta…” Larry typed a response, but when he looked up, it was too late.

Larry looked around at his friends for what was probably the last time. The golden beams of sunlight lit the rotunda beautifully, the dull crates doing a disservice to the vibrancy of what they contained. Larry left the museum a dejected man.


	7. Hors d’oeuvres

Amelia’s whisper to him on the street echoed in his mind over the quickly passing months leading up to the grand reopening of the museum. Selling his company, the endowment, being reemployed by the museum, all of it kept those two words, “Have fun” circling in his head like a perpetually moving carousel. Creating and running the night program was exhausting and Larry could feel it catching up to him. The entire goodbye on the street replayed itself as he tried to sleep between business meetings and exhibit rehearsals. It wasn’t until the night that he spotted her in the crowd that the words finally slowed down long enough for him to fully process what they meant.

There were more people in the museum than Larry could remember ever seeing. The crowd exceeded even the ones that came following the infamous “publicity stunt” night. It was pure chance that he saw her at all, let alone that she noticed him in return.

After learning her name, Emily, he escorted the Amelia Earhart doppelganger through the live exhibits, bursting with pride as her delight soared higher with each person she met. It was fun, watching his friends enchant the crowds with their stories. The last exhibit was Ahk, who stood proudly with his tablet and smiled at everyone who glanced at him. Dexter had scurried off when he saw Larry approaching.

“And who might you be?” Emily approached Ahk.

“I am Ahkmenrah, Pharaoh of Egypt, Fourth King of the Fourth King and Ruler of the land of my fathers.” Ahk glanced at Larry, his smile changing to a tenderer quirk of the lips. Emily noticed the exchange, but continued.

“Pleased to meet you Ahkmenrah. What are you holding?” Ahk returned to his public, kingly grin.

“This is my tablet. It is imbued with magic and brings all you see around you to life tonight.”

“That’s very impressive. What was it like, living so long ago?”

“Very different from now, yet also the same. It is a paradoxical viewpoint, I must admit.”

Larry couldn’t help but butt in. “What does that mean?”

“People now and people then all have the same end goals. There may be different jobs, different styles, different foods,” Ahk returned to the tender quirk of lips. He was speaking to both Emily and Larry, but his gaze wasn’t wandering from the night guard. “But in the end, we all want love and happiness. To feel alive, to have that adventure.”

Larry felt frozen to his spot, lost in thought. Both Ahk and Amelia’s words swirled through his mind, the carousel spinning ever faster until the horses blurred into one. You make me feel alive. You’ve given me the adventure of a lifetime.

“Larry?” The spinning stopped. Larry looked around him. Emily seemed concerned. Ahk had a hand on his shoulder. “Are you feeling alright?”

Larry nodded. “I think I just need to sit down.” Ahk put his arm around Larry and started to guide him to a bench. “Emily, it was great to meet you. I hope you liked your visit, we’d love to see you again.” She thanked him and he watched over his shoulder as she wandered away.

“Have you been sleeping or eating at all? You‘re pallid.” Larry tried to wave him off, but Ahk persisted. “I will find you something to eat. Just… stay here. Please.”

The hallway was nearly empty. Morning was still hours away, but the late night visitors would be leaving soon. Larry sighed, a deep and exhausted noise. He sat patiently for Ahk to return.

Ahk’s robes billowed around him as he strode with purpose down the hall, back to the bench. In his hands were little plates with hors d’oeuvres piled high. Ahk sat next to him and handed over a plate.

“I insist you eat.” It was said with all of the authority the king could muster.

Larry picked up the little cracker with strawberry slices and cheese artfully arranged. It really did taste good. Ahk didn’t begin questioning him until he had eaten two more crackers, the watermelon and cucumber kabob, and a few chocolate dipped orange wedges.

“Are you actually all right? You almost fell over.” Larry met Ahk’s eyes and saw the distress within.

“It’s just been so busy. I think the lack of sleep caught up to me, that’s all.” Larry popped another bite of kabob into his mouth. “This is really good.”

Ahk, who relaxed into a slouch, took his own kabob off of his plate and nibbled into the watermelon and cucumber. “It’s a bit strange,” he said before taking another bite. “But quite tasty.”

A smile overtook Larry as he realized, sneaking one of Ahk’s orange slices, just what they were eating. “McFee didn’t see you taking this, right? It’s for the high dollar donors of the museum.”

Ahk slapped his hand away before he could get to a second slice. “Of course not. This isn’t the first time I have snuck food away from a party. My father and mother would attest to that.” Larry leaned in, shoulder to shoulder with Ahk, resting his weight against the king. With a bit of eye rolling, Ahk handed over the last slice of orange, which Larry gleefully took.

He took a small bite and held the other half up for inspection. Inside the dark cocoon of chocolate was bright orange, juicy and sweet and perfectly ripe. Ahk was warm next to him, robes creating their own safe cocoon. Larry looked at him, studied the way he was gazing wistfully down the empty hallway.

“Do I really make you feel alive?” Without hesitating, Ahk nodded. Larry took Ahk’s hand and set the uneaten half in the center of Ahk’s palm. He then put a hand on either side of Ahk’s face and gave him a resounding kiss.

Larry stood up, his hands falling to his sides, leaving Ahk sitting on the bench dazed. “I know a pizza place that’s still delivering. You want some?” Ahk looked up at him, doe eyed, before nodding enthusiastically. They walked side by side out of the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say a big Thank You! to everyone who read and gave kudos and commented! You guys made writing this fic worth it. So, again, thank you :)


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